The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1887-09-23

graveyard, grown up with weeds,
tall, coarse grass, and ia lonely, out
of the-way place, is dismal spectacle.
and one which not only superstitious
persons, but those naturally timid,
shun to pass by in the night time.
There are some cemeteries so neatly
kept, in which even timorous people
would not feel i'll at ease, if left alone,
after the shadows have curtained the
moon and the stars. Kenosha ceme-
terry is fast increasing the number of
its silent Inhabitants, and to the credit
of surviving friends it may be said the
improvements of the grounds are
steadily advancing. There are many
handsome monuments, some quite ex-
pensise, that will compare favorably
with those found in cemeteries belong
ing to older and larger cities. The
grave is Invested of much of its gloom
and terror, where kind hands have
beautified its environments. The first
interment in these grounds was the
wife of Hon. Charles Durkee, in 1887.
Mr.. Durkee was one of the early citiz-
ems, who subsequently held many posi-.
tons of honor and trust; among them
were U. S. Senator and Governor of
Utah. He selected this place as a
burial place for his wife, on account of
its natural beauty, and before it had
been finally set apart as a public ceme-
terry. There are two other cemeteries
near the city, one south and the other
north, which are entitled to mention,
and may be noticed at another time.
Mrs. Durkee, wife of Hon. Charles
Durkee, being the first person buried
in the cemetery, it may he interesting
to repeat what is said of her by the
writer of the historical sketch of her
husband, found in the 9th volume of
the State Historical Society's colIec.
tions. The writer, speaking of Mrs.
Durkee, says:
"This lady possessed more than or
binary attractions, and was widely es-
teemed for her many excellent quail
ties. The wild loneliness that sur
rounded her new home in the West
excited her enthusiastic admiration.
Although no flower garden cultivated
by human hands was attached to her
dwelling, yet during the summer and
autumnal months there was spread
out before her scene of floral splendor
on gran1er scale than wealth and
skill had ever produced in her native
Vermont. She was seemingly more
cOntented and happy in the simple
cabin in which she dwelt than if her
abode had been in a palatial mansion
in an eastern metropolitan city. But
she was destined not long to enjoy the
excitements and pleasures of her new
home. She was taken sick in August,
1887, and died after short Illness"
Cemeteries, besides being deposition
les of the dead, are valuable historical
reminders. Among the many instances
in point single one may be mentioned !:
twenty miles below Washington, on
the Virginia side of the Potomac, is
found family cemetery, long desert
ed; no burials have been made in it
during the past three.quarters of a
century. Small trees have grown on
some of the graves. On reading the
inscriptions on the rusty tomb-stones
the visitor is reminded that this was
the family burial place of the distin-
guished Mason families. who bore such
a conspicuous part at one period in the
political history of old Virginia. These
old marble grave marks revive afresh
the times when the Southern aristoc-
racy exercised large control. 1t may
be mentioned, although without any
connection with the subject of GENE.
teries, that the lands on which this
family cemetery is located, and the old
Mason mansion, which still remains,
was purchased soon after the war by
Col. Edward Daniels, OF this state. He
contemplated the establishment of a
colony of Northern mechanics there, for
the manufacture of agricultural i'm
plements, suited to the wants of Vir-
ginia. His well-intentioned enterprise
failed, and it is understood the proper
ty has passed into other hands.